Fluid and humidity moisture sensors are well known in the prior art. For example, humidity sensors are frequently used to determine the moisture level of plant soil. Such humidity sensors usually have two metal prongs for insertion into the soil as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,386 issued to Bireley, Jul. 25, 1989 and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,931,775 issued to Sheriff, Jun. 5, 1990. The prongs are usually inserted into a plant base so that the soil humidity can be measured between the prongs. Such devices are not applicable or useful in measuring of water level in, for example, a Christmas tree stand or other water tanks as well as in detecting of presence (or absence) of water in different household areas.
In the case of a Christmas tree or any other fresh cut plants, it is quite important to keep the level of water above the cut area of the plant so that the cut is not exposed to air. Upon exposure, the pores and vascular system of the plant draw in air instead of water. In the case where the air fills the vascular system to a certain height, a plant may lose the capacity to transport water to other areas of the plant which leads to the eventual death of the plant.
With respect to other advancements in the art, many devices have been provided with audio or visual indicators for indicating to a user the need for additional moisture/water. In particular, arrangements for Christmas tree moisture content have been proposed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,796,017, 5,410,839, 5,428,348 and 5,493,277. The apparatus discussed in these references teach complicated arrangements, some of which isolate the battery and the alarm or require a switch, etc.
The present invention avoids the complicated arrangements in the art to provide a simplified integral unit capable of being used in a number of different ways.